Hans Fischer

Hans Fischer (1881–1945) was a German organic chemist who studied blood pigments and chlorophyll. He received the 1930 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research on hemin and chlorophyll.

Hemin: An iron-containing porphyrin found in blood pigments and used in biochemical research. Fischer isolated and studied this blood pigment, then achieved its synthesis.
Hemoglobin: The iron-containing protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen. Its heme group is the biological setting for the blood pigment Fischer studied.
University of Munich: A German public research university founded in 1472 and based in Munich. Fischer held a professorship there while pursuing his research in organic chemistry.
Adolf Butenandt: A German biochemist who studied hormones and received the 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Butenandt succeeded Fischer in Munich and continued research in organic chemistry.
Spectroscopy: The study of how matter interacts with electromagnetic radiation across different wavelengths. Spectral measurements reveal pigment behavior, while Fischer’s work established molecular structures through chemical analysis and synthesis.
Heme: An iron-containing molecule that binds oxygen in hemoglobin and serves as a cofactor in many proteins. Hemin is an oxidized form of heme, the biological pigment central to Fischer’s blood-pigment research.
Myoglobin: An oxygen-binding protein that stores oxygen in muscle tissue. Its heme illustrates another biological role for the pigment family Fischer investigated.
University of Innsbruck: A public research university in Innsbruck, Austria, founded in 1669. Fischer’s early academic career included a professorship at this university.
Heinrich Wieland: A German chemist who studied bile acids and received the 1927 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Wieland’s research on bile pigments addressed products of heme breakdown related to Fischer’s work.
X-ray crystallography: A method for determining crystal structures from the diffraction of X-rays. This structural method differs from the chemical degradation and synthesis used in Fischer’s era.

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